


Risen from the Ashes

by russiansimp



Series: Zukka, but these dipshits are in the modern times [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Firelord Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Modern AU, Modern Bending Au, More tags will come, Please read part one, Royalty and shit, Sane Azula (Avatar)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:21:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25797340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/russiansimp/pseuds/russiansimp
Summary: Zuko had only seen one coronation in this nation in his life. And it was not fun. It was full of feelings of betrayal, anger. He was mad at his father for usurping his uncle, mad at him forlying. Even that young, he knew Iroh would be several times the Fire Lord that Ozai would ever be.He supposed that was why he expected the next coronation to be for his uncle. In his mind, ever since he realized he was fighting for the wrong side, he imagined Iroh taking his rightful place on the throne after his father had died. Rather, his father was still very much alive, and his uncle was merely among the crowd.
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar) (Mentioned), Azula/Ty Lee/Mai (Avatar) (Mentioned), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zukka, but these dipshits are in the modern times [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871533
Comments: 7
Kudos: 120





	Risen from the Ashes

**Author's Note:**

> Pretty pretty please read part one of this series! If you're really stubborn then here's a quick thing: modern bending au ft good Azula I guess

Zuko had only seen one coronation in this nation in his life. And it was not fun. It was full of feelings of betrayal, anger. He was mad at his father for usurping his uncle, mad at him for _lying_. Even that young, he knew Iroh would be several times the Fire Lord that Ozai would ever be.

He supposed that was why he expected the next coronation to be for his uncle. In his mind, ever since he realized he was fighting for the wrong side, he imagined Iroh taking his rightful place on the throne after his father had died. Rather, his father was still very much alive, and his uncle was merely among the crowd.

“I’m sorry,” the maid murmured as she dressed Zuko, noting him flinching about his sore areas as she draped him in heavy silk robes.

“It’s okay,” Zuko assured, adjusting his arm in the wide sleeve. It felt odd to be wearing these clothes. He never imagined he’d be the one in them. “Thank you, Eraya,” he added. “You didn’t have to help me dress.”

“I know,” Eraya hummed. “No offense, your highness, but you can hardly raise your hand to take a cup of tea. Not to mention you’re horrible at wrapping your own bandages.”

“Don’t make me laugh,” he chuckled, closing his eyes. “It hurts.”

“Pardon me,” she hummed, fastening his belt in the front. She sighed gently, grabbing a red ribbon and a comb before moving behind him. She carefully combed his hair back into a tail, pausing to try and tuck all of the short, loose hairs in. Some of them just hadn’t grown, some of them had been shortened from fire or lightning.

“Leave them,” he shrugged, knowing she wouldn’t be able to tuck them away. She nodded wordlessly, smoothing out all of the hair before folding it back into a bun. She wrapped and tied it securely, fanning it out to even out the shape.

“There,” she hummed, satisfied with her work. “All ready to go.”

“Thank you,” he hummed, smiling up at her. He pushed himself to stand, opening an arm to hug her. She hesitated, but wrapped her arms around to hug him.

“Good luck,” she hummed. “I’ll have some food waiting for you.”

“You’re too good for me,” he chuckled. “I’ll see you then.” He smoothed out the front of his robe, then turning to open the door and disappear down the hall.

He was delighted to find Aang casually leaned against the wall, speaking to his sister. The Avatar had a huge smile on his face, and Zuko knew what he was doing: attempting to make Azula laugh. It wasn’t working. There was a sour frown on her face, though her lips were pursed in a way that signaled she was trying not to smile.

When Aang noticed him, he stopped mid-sentence, twirling around to clasp his hands together. “Finally! We’ve been here forever!” He laughed. “Come on, don’t be keeping everyone waiting.”

“Shut up, we have five minutes,” he chuckled, patting his shoulder. He looked to Azula, who had resumed her confident posture. Her hair was in a neat braided bun, her bangs combed straight, along with a few pieces to frame her face. She had put on a sort of tunic that closed with gold clasps down the front, fanning out into a skirt with long slits up the side. It was tied with a gold belt around her waist, tied in a neat bow in the back, all over her regular pants and boots.

“Bangs suit you,” he complimented, hugging her from the side.

“Hmph. Everything suits me,” she replied, dusting her top off. And then, after a moment of silence, “...thank you, brother.”

“You’re welcome,” he hummed.

Soon enough, after casual banter with Aang, a Sage appeared, beckoning them out. Zuko waved the two of them to follow him. His throat suddenly went dry as he saw _how many goddamn people _were here. Separated by nation— well, along with several acquaintances from Ba Sing Se in place of where the air acolytes would stand. He let out a shaky breath through his nose, scanning the area for his friends. They were all standing off to the right, and Sokka waved happily when he caught his eye.__

Everyone applauded and cheered when the three emerged. He couldn’t help but be relieved that he wasn’t met with a riot. No, he guessed that would come later. He raised his hand in a sign to quiet. When they did, he gestured to Aang. “Please, the real hero here is the Avatar.”

The crowd again erupted into applause as Aang stepped forward. He smiled when he noticed him catch Katara’s eye, who amped up her clapping and hoots of praise. He had to admit, they were definitely a wonderful couple—no doubt they’d get married one of these days.

He waited for the crowd to die down, clearing his throat. Eraya had miced him up beforehand, in an effort to help what reporters were filming, as well as amplify his voice for his remarks so he wouldn’t have to strain his throat. “Today, the war is over. I promised my Uncle long ago that I would restore honor to this nation. When I told him that, I was fighting on the wrong side of the war. If you were to tell me seven years ago that this is how it would go, I’m not sure I would have believed it.” There was a handful of quiet murmurs. “The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left this nation, along with the world, scarred and divided. But, I will put in my utmost effort to right the wrongs of my ancestors. I hope we can create a new era of love and peace with the Avatar’s help.”

He gathered a handful of his robe to kneel down, feeling a Sage step forward behind him. The golden headpiece was slid in place, secured with a horizontal pin. “All hail Fire Lord Zuko!”

It was an odd mixture of words he never thought he’d hear. Punctuated by the adoring cheers of a large crowd, by far a dream he didn’t think he’d live.

After rising to his feet, he allowed the crowd to die down on their own, a small smile on his lips. He looked back to his sister, subtly beckoning her forward. She cleared her throat, soon joining him and Aang.

“With the advancement of our lineage, we no longer have a crown prince,” he began. “In the event I shouldn’t continue my reign for whatever reason, my crown and duties will be passed on to Crown Princess Azula.”

His sister looked dumbfounded. Really, after all she had done to him, he was placing her so high in the nation? She needed a reminder to kneel, so the same sage could pin in her hair a new hairpiece, in the shape signaling the heir to the throne. It was blown stained glass, wrapped in gold, attached to a comb. She had once mentioned to Zuko, several years ago, that she thought a glass headpiece would be really cool. She was baffled that he remembered.

She rose to her feet, smiling up at her brother. He took her hand, giving it a brief squeeze. He turned back to the crowd, sighing gently. “The past three coronations have not been followed by a traditional royal feast. That’s something I’m breaking today. You are all welcome to join us inside for festivities and food.” He formed his hands into the eternal flame, bowing to his new people.

They all began filing into the banquet hall through a designated entrance. When it was less crowded, Azula allowed herself to break. She turned to him, wrapping her arms tightly around his shoulders. “Thank you,” she muttered.

He gasped, flinching a bit, though he soon melted into a smile. “Of course,” he responded, patting her back.

“You really are nothing like him,” she remarked.

“I would like to think so…”

“Thank you, your highness,” she mumbled. It actually made him laugh.

“You’re still my sister. Please, _never _call me that again. I’m begging you, Azzy.”__

She actually laughed. Not that pretentious, condescending laughter he knew so well. No, she hid her face, covering her mouth and snorting.

“Come on, let’s get the others,” he urged. She nodded, straightening up and clasping her hands behind her back. The two began off the platform to their uncle and the rest of the team. Sokka immediately ran to catch him in a kiss, making him laugh softly. Azula scoffed a bit, stepping back from the two.

“There’s a law you can change,” she muttered.

“Hey, it isn’t illegal to kiss him. Besides, no one is going to say something.” He pressed another quick kiss to his lips, ignoring his confusion.

“What, are you not allowed to be gay here?” He joked.

“You’re not allowed to marry,” he shrugged. “It will be easy enough to change. We’re all pretty sure Sozin was upset Roku wouldn’t fuck him, so he outlawed it,” he explained. “Weird to say that since they’re both… my grandparents,” he muttered.

“That’s some flaming bullshit,” Sokka sighed, kissing his jaw. “Fix that.”

“I will,” he promised. “There are a handful of laws I don’t even need to think about it to change. That’s one of them.”

“Good. Now, are you gonna treat me to some lovely fire nation cuisine?”


End file.
